Factors leading to delayed presentation among patients presenting with ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction in Emergency Department of a tertiary care hospital.

The duration between the onset of myocardial infarction and first intervention plays a pivotal role in saving the life of the patients. Objective: To determine the frequency of various pre-hospital factors causing delay among patients presenting with STEMI in the emergency department of a teaching hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive observational study conducted at the Cardiology Department, Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), Rawalpindi from March to August 2019. A total of 142 patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to the Emergency Department (ED) of RIC were enrolled. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were reviewed for confirmation of STEMI and find the type of MI. Echo-cardiography was done to find out the ejection fraction (EF) of the left ventricle. Type of reperfusion therapy either thrombolytic therapy or primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), time of symptom onset, and time of presentation in ED of RIC were noted.  Patients were divided into four major groups depending upon the possible factors for delayed presentation: 1) Misinterpretation of symptoms, 2) Ignorance Of reporting urgently or waiting for symptoms to resolve, 3) Transportation problem and 4) First presentational facility where thrombolytic unavailable. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v.23.0 (IBM, Armonk, U.S.). Results: The mean age was 53.2(SD=15.5). Out of 142 patients, most of them were males 130(91.5%). In our study, the majority 46.5% had a primary level of education.  Transportation problems were the main reason for delayed presentation accounting for 45(34.5%), followed by misinterpretation of symptoms 40(28.2%), patients first presented at a facility where thrombolytic therapy was unavailable 27(19%) and patients were either ignorant of reporting urgently to a hospital or they waited for symptoms to resolve 26(18.3%). There was a significant difference in point of the first consultation, MI type, and time duration of delayed presentation among groups (P<.05). Conclusion: Transportation problems and misinterpretation of symptoms are the main reasons for the delay in getting reperfusion treatment for ST-elevation MI. Providing better primary care facilities available to rural areas as well as targeted awareness campaigns will greatly help in this regard.